Winning nine games and ending an eight-year playoff drought wasn’t enough for the Tennessee Titans to hang onto Mike Mularkey. Instead, they went a different direction with Mike Vrabel becoming the team’s fifth coach since 2010. The Green Bay Packers saw their streak of eight straight postseason appearances snapped last season, but there is reason for optimism with Aaron Rodgers back. We probably won’t see the two-time MVP in Week 1 of the preseason, but the Pack is looking for bigger things once the real games begin.
This duel in Week 1 of the preseason will go down Thursday, August 9, 2018, at 8 p.m. ET at Lambeau Field.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Tennessee Titans PK
Green Bay Packers PK
Over/Under 34.5
Odds Analysis
All of the first preseason games are pretty much tossups to begin with, but this one is on the odds board, too. The line opened as a pick em, foregoing the standard three points for home field advantage. And the Packers have plenty to prove after a disappointing last season. The total came in at a rather average 34.5.
Matchup to Watch
The loss of Rodgers to a broken collarbone last season may have been the best thing to happen to the Packers in the long run. His absence exposed many weaknesses the team couldn’t mask without their two-time MVP. Most notably, the defense was a mess and has been for the past few years.
The team moved on from Dom Capers and brought in Mike Pettine to revamp the group. Early indications are that the players are adjusting, and so is the new coach. It’s always easy to be a good coach when the personnel is in place, and Pettine will be the beneficiary of a retooled unit. Expect to see plenty of new attacking schemes to create more pressure on the quarterback, in turn helping out a secondary that finished 23rd against the pass last season.
Tennessee relied on a ground and pound approach under Mularkey, and it was successful to a degree. But it stunted the development of Marcus Mariota, who quite simply is the key to the Titans hopes. Vrabel and new offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur have hopes of opening up the play book this season and LaFleur is right guy for the job.
Coming over from the Rams where he helped with the growth of Jared Goff, LaFleur will have a big role in turning Mariota’s career path around. Last season, the former Heisman Trophy winner had a career-low 13 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions. LaFleur helped the Rams go from last in scoring in 2016 to first in 2017. He was also the quarterbacks coach in Atlanta during Matt Ryan’s MVP season.
Coaching History
With two new coordinators and an abundance of young players, this preseason takes on more meaning for Mike McCarthy. The Packers are 6-2 in the last two preseasons under McCarthy and his overall record is 26-21. However, Week 1 is his worst with a mark of just 5-7 in the opening exhibition contest.
Vrabel takes over a team that won nine games and reached the playoffs last season, so he doesn’t have the wiggle room most new coaches have. He also has no experience as a head coach, so there is an adjustment in that regard. But he is a winner with three Super Bowl rings from his playing days with the New England Patriots.
Free ATS Pick
Both teams enter the season with playoff aspirations, but they also had major overhauls to their coaching staffs. McCarthy is still running the Packers show, but he has two new coordinators. The Titans are all new at the top of their coaching ranks with Vrabel, LaFleur and Dean Peas the new defensive coordinator. Both teams are working with a bunch of new players as well.
The Packers have more stability at the backup QB spot with Brett Hundley and DeShone Kizer battling for the job, and they’ll both get plenty of snaps on Thursday. Blaine Gabbert is the backup in Tennessee with rookie Luke Falk expected to get a few reps. Learning the system is more important than the outcome in this one, but give the Packers the edge for playing in Lambeau.
NFL Odds: Packers 18, Titans 15
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